Rigor and Relevance: Quad D Moments AND a Pinterest Find!!

After 6 full days of Rigor and Relevance training, I should be an expert, right??  Not so much!  I learned a tremendous amount during that time, but it is a little intimidating to know that I am one of 4 responsible for training my schools in Rigor and Relevance.  I have a decent handle on it, but one area that has always perplexed me is Quad D lessons.  When people think Quad D, they think projects (which in part, it is) and cross-curricular.  That type of teaching is wonderful and I encourage it as often as possible, but let's be realistic here... you can't do huge cross-curricular projects on a daily basis.  So... When I saw a full day class offered on Quad D, I signed up.  I needed to know more about this quadrant that so many of us are trying to strive towards.

You know me... I love a good quote.  Unfortunately, I am not sure who it belongs to.  I tried using Google, but no luck.

"Teaching is only as good as the learning that takes place."

With that being said, we learned that Quad D moments are experiences integrated into daily practice through short, quick activities.  That's just what I wanted to hear; incorporating Quad D into our daily teaching.  We also learned that it is instructional activities that raise the level of rigor (thinking) and relevance (application) and are aligned with the Rigor and Relevance Framework.  Click on the link to read Emily's post regarding this.

So I'm sitting there thinking, "Give me some examples.  I need to see some examples of Quad D moments."  Ask and you shall receive... Here are some quick activities to boost the Rigor and Relevance in your classroom:

A few others I liked:

Write to learn

Fix It

What if?

(What If? is my particular favorite because it is so quick and easy to use with everything.)

I consulted my good friend Google to see what I could find on Quad D moments.  Google is my friend because it has the answers to EVERYTHING (Well maybe except for the author of that quote. Or maybe it was just me searching the wrong things he he)!!  Google is also where I find a large percentage of what I teach in the classroom.

I stumbled upon this video clip which goes into Quad D moments briefly, advertises a resource which I am interested in finding more information on, and gives some examples.  Click on the image below to watch the video.

So I am out to learn as much as I can about the wonderful world of Quad D; especially the short, quick moments.  Do you all have any tips for me and the followers of 4321Teach?  What helpful information do you guys have on Rigor and Relevance and Quad D?

A PINTEREST FIND!!!

Still feeding my addiction to Pinterest, I found a poster of the writing conference acronym I posted about the other day.  Click here to view that post.  It was TAG with a very slight variation.  Click on the image below to go to the Pinterest page.

Thanks,

Common Core: Rigor and Relevance

I don't know a teacher out there who isn't gearing up for the Common Core.
Antoinette and I work in a district that is offering many professional development opportunities to prepare us for the upcoming standards.
This week we are attending a district sponsored Summer Academy.  (Antoinette mentioned it earlier this week.)
Teachers sign up for classes, and I couldn't resist signing up for a class on Rigor and Relevance.
It seems to be a new "buzz word."

Our presenters were part of the International Center for Leadership in Education.
Many of the resources will be linked from their website.
Here is the Framework.

The presenter spent time talking about what rigor is and what rigor isn't:
Rigor is:
-scaffolding thinking
-planning for thinking

Rigor isn't:
-back to basics
-more or harder worksheets
-about high-order thinking

The presenter focused on the idea that you need each quadrant to be used in instruction.
You can introduce content by posing a Quad D (real world/ complex) question, and the student's can figure out what Quad A (facts) they need to know.

He said in all his years, he had never seen a lesson that would be stuck in a certain quadrant.
(Don't just live in Quad A or Quad D!)
Focus on applying skills in real world types of situations (Quad B & Quad C).

Relevance:
Speaking of real world, when is the last time you finished reading a book or watching a story on the news and did a worksheet to show what you comprehended?

That's right, NEVER!
So, if this is what our kids are doing most of the time, is that helping them prepare for the future?

What are some topics that kids find interesting:
-Cell phones (The presenter mentioned in all his time in classrooms around the US K-12, this topic was universal.)
-Entertainment (movies/music/video games)
-Sports
-Fashion

Does this have to be all you talk about?
No, but sometimes including it can't hurt!

From the teacher perspective:
Consider building in tasks that encourage character virtues (honesty, responsibility) and career skills (technology, ethics).

Though you may want to work for the present, think about the future and how this may be presented.

This is also a great document the presenter used info from.

What have you learned about Rigor and Relevance?

EmilyK